A novel bridge wire model of blast traumatic brain injury - biomed 2013

Research into the mechanics of blast-induced traumatic brain injury requires a device capable of reproducing pressures of the same magnitude and time scale as a blast wave. A blast simulator based on the exploding bridge wire mechanism was created with these capabilities. Peak blast pressures in the range of 5 – 29 psi were generated with a positive phase duration less than 20 µs. A series of experiments using 0.008 inch diameter wires (10-20 psi) were used to demonstrate the ability of the blast simulator to injure in vitro primary brain cell cultures at 1, 24, and 48 hours following blast. Blast exposure caused a rapid loss of cells which was significant over controls. Propidium iodide uptake indicated limited injury to cellular membranes but the cytoskeletal structure showed signs of degeneration 1 hour following blast. These results indicate that the bridge wire blast simulator can serve as a suitable in vitro model of blast injury.